Bill Davis Racing Event Preview

Miami Truck Race Review - Johnny Wins!

Johnny Benson joined the rest of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitors at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend to wrap up the 2007 NCTS season. It was one last chance for Benson to move up in the Championship standings.

           

       

Benson and his team got started early Friday in what was a long one-day show. The team made many different adjustments to the Exide Batteries Tundra during practice, in an effort to get the truck ready for that night’s race. As the final practice session came to an end, Benson topped the speed charts, and the No. 23 team was ready for qualifying.

Benson was the third-to-last driver to make his qualifying attempt Friday afternoon, and he hit the track running as the sun went down behind the grandstands. He put down an incredible lap of 31.237 seconds to take over the top spot. Benson and crew thought he was going to capture his first pole of the year until the last truck to qualify bumped Benson to the second starting position. The four Bill Davis Racing trucks occupied the second, third, fourth and fifth starting positions for the race.

After the green flag waved to start the season finale, Benson maintained his position well but let his crew know that the handling of his truck was tight in the center of the turns. He continued to drive hard while fighting the handling problem and took the lead on lap 25. He maintained the lead for the next 30 laps despite still doing battle with his truck. He relinquished the top spot only to pit under green flag conditions.

Benson had to fight his way through the field after the four-tire stop, as many drivers did not pit. After the caution flag waved on lap 77, Benson again pitted for four tires and fuel. He restarted seventh on lap 80.

Benson picked off positions one by one and found himself in the top four by lap 100 of the 138-lap event. He reported to his crew that his Exide Tundra was now tight, and it sounded as if the motor was lying down. Despite this, Benson managed to take the second position.

Benson drove hard into the corners in an attempt to gain ground on the leader. He was relieved to see the caution flag wave on lap 132, as this would enable him to fight for the win during a green-white-checkered finish. Benson passed the leader with one lap to go and captured his fourth victory of the season. Benson also finished third the 2007 NCTS Championship standings.

Miami Cup Race Review

After scoring his fourth win of the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event Friday night, Johnny Benson was hoping for more success in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race Sunday. Unfortunately, an issue with the engine ended the night early for the Bill Davis Racing team, which was credited with a 43rd-place finish in the event.
 

         
Sitting outside the top 35 in the NEXTEL Cup Series owners’ point standings, Benson and the 360 OTC Racing team were forced to make the field for Sunday’s event based on speed. Benson was the 42nd of 49 competitors to take to the track for his qualifying run Friday afternoon. His speed of 174.560 mph around the 1.5-mile oval earned the team the 20th spot on the starting lineup for Sunday’s event. Prior to qualifying, the team changed the engine in the No. 36 machine, so though the team earned itself a top 20 qualifying effort, Benson would be forced to start at the back of the pack for Sunday’s event.

Benson lined up at the tail end of the field for the start of the Ford 400 and had worked his way into 31st spot by the time he made his way down pit road for the first pit stop of the day on lap 50. The team changed all four tires, filled the tank with fuel and made a track bar adjustment in an effort to loosen the handling of the car a bit. Unfortunately, just after Benson made his stop, the first caution flag of the day waved, which left the team two laps down to the leader, who had not yet stopped. Benson lined up for the lap 58 restart in 35th place.

Benson picked up several spots during the next 12 laps but reported to the crew that the motor felt like it was losing power. Several laps later, Benson was forced to drive his Toyota Camry into the garage area with terminal engine problems. Benson was credited with a 43rd-place finish when the checkered flag waved.

Race/Date:    Ford 200 – Nov. 16, 2007

Location:       Homestead-Miami Speedway – Miami, Fla.

NOTES:

• This week’s race truck for Homestead-Miami Speedway is Chassis No. 23-60.  Johnny Benson has driven this truck in numerous races this season, including at The Milwaukee Mile, where he won back-to-back races in June.

• What a Year…  Bill Davis Racing has had an incredible 2007 season in the NCTS.  The BDR truck teams have captured 12 poles, eight wins, 29 top-five finishes and 41 top-10 finishes this season.

• Welcome Back…  Exide Batteries will serve as primary sponsor of the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Tundra team in the season finale.  This will be the fourth time this season in which Exide Batteries has performed primary sponsor duties.

• 100th start…  Homestead will mark the 100th NCTS start for the Toyota Tundra, which debuted in the series in 2004.  Benson will also make his 100th career NCTS start this weekend at Homestead.

• Double Duty…  For the second consecutive week, Benson will attempt to qualify for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race and drive in the Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night.  Benson will drive the No. 36 Toyota Camry in the NEXTEL Cup Series.

• On a Roll…  Benson and his No. 23 team have had two wins, five top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes in the last nine races.

• Point Standings…  Benson has quickly climbed the NCTS Championship standings.  He now stands in the fifth position.

• Fourth Truck…  BDR’s NEXTEL Cup Series wheel man Dave Blaney will attempt to qualify the No. 22 Tundra for Friday night’s Ford 200. 

• Listen and watch…  The Ford 200 is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, Nov. 16.  It will broadcast on the Speed Channel (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128).